Radial Nerve Paralysis in DogsEven though it can be very challenging if you treat it correctly your dog can fully recover

Radial nerve paralysis in dogs is one of the most common forms of
nerve injuries that affect dogs, but as with all nerve injuries, it is
also very mysterious.

Once this nerve is damaged, your dog may return to
normal as if nothing ever happened, or they may be crippled for the
rest of their lives.

To help to fully understand this type of an injury in your dog, it is helpful to understand how this nerve functions.

THE RADICAL NERVE

Radial nerve paralysis in dogs is a lot easier to understand with some
basic knowledge of the radical nerve.

This nerve in your dog crosses
bone directly above what is called the elbow of your pet, and it is
extremely vulnerable to injury if your dog is stuck with a heavy object
or worse yet, hit by a car.

What makes this type of an injury both so damaging as well as
frustrating, is that there is no known treatment for this type of nerve
injury.

The radical nerve is the largest of all the nerves in
your dog’s front leg.

It carries the responsibility of helping your
dog extend their elbow, their wrist, as well as their toes.

In addition
to these tasks, it also provides all of the sensation that your dog
feels to their upper inside surface of their front legs as well as the
upper surface of their paws.

This nerve starts under the upper portion of the front leg from a bundle of nerves that are referred to as the bronchial plexus.

This
entire nerve grouping is found in your dog’s spinal column in their
neck area.

The radical nerve than travels down the up-side of your dog’s
leg and crosses directly above their elbow and from there it goes very
deep into their body.

It eventually branches into the muscles of their
lower front leg and finally ends in their paw.

THE SYMPTOMS OF RADIAL NERVE PARALYSIS IN DOGS

Unlike many other nerve conditions or several
diseases, radial nerve paralysis in dogs is not vague but rather very
explicit in the symptoms that it will show.

If your dog shows any of
these symptoms, in over 99 percent of all cases it is radial nerve
paralysis.

The first symptom that you will see is where your dog
has lost their ability to control their triceps muscle as well as the
muscles that extend their front leg.

As a result of this, they will not
be able to extend their elbow or their lower limb. In other words, their
leg will remain either flexed or bent.

Once this does occur,
your dog will not be able to stand on the leg because it no longer has
the ability to bear any weight at all.

The next symptom is also very
distinct; they will begin to drag their paw, but it will be the upper
side of the paw, not the bottom side.

If both of these do occur,
immediately pinch your dog’s upper and outside fore leg.

If they
do not react at all or very slightly, it is the final symptom, as they
have lost most of their feelings, or in some cases, all of the feeling.

THE TYPES OF DAMAGE IT DOES

The
degree of damage that radial nerve paralysis in dogs actually does will
all depend on how bad the nerve has been affected.

The best way to
understand this is in knowledge of the nerves themselves.

The nerves in
your dogs are basically like wires, just a lot smaller. These wires also
have a covering, which in your dog is called nerve sheaths.

The level of damage and how bad these wires as well as the sheath
have been damaged will dictate the type of recovery you can expect in
your dog.

There are three levels of damage: Neuropraxia, Axonotmesis,
and Neurotmesis.

The first form of radial nerve paralysis in dogs
is referred to as Neuropraxia, and this is the type of damage you hope
has occurred.

This is basically a situation where these wires in your
dog have only become bent.

As a result, the loss of nerve
functions by your dog will be a temporary situation.

They will
gradually begin to bend back into their normal positions and start
functioning properly on their own.

The
second form is referred to as Axonotmesis, and if the damage is not the
first form, you need to hope it is this form.

This is a condition where
the wires or nerve fibers have ruptured, but the covering or the
sheath, has not been damaged.

The chances are not nearly as good at full
recovery, but there is still some hope.

The nerve fibers in your dog actually grow constantly, but only at a
rate of 1 mm per day. Although your dog only has about a 50/50 chance at
full recovery, these fibers may actually grow and reconnect.

It may
take several months, but at least they have a chance at full recovery.

The
final form of radial nerve paralysis in dogs is referred to as
Neurotmesis, and it will be a devastating injury for your dog.

This
would be like taking a pair of scissors and cutting the wires or nerves
fibers and completely severing them. The chances of any type of recovery
with this form of injury are next to impossible.

THE TREATMENTS WILL TAKE TIME

Radial
nerve paralysis in dogs has no wonder treatment or new advances, at
least not yet.

All nerve injuries are considered very mysterious simply
because there is no full proof way to actually determine the extent of
damage.

However, once you have confirmed the injury and taken
your dog to your veterinarian, they can give you a fairly good idea of
their chances by examining your dog.

This will be done by
detecting how deep the pain threshold actually is. If your dog can still
detect deep pain by pinching the toe and they make any leg movement at
all, they have a chance.

The best method of any type of treatment will come from you. When
your dog loses the ability to walk on the affected limb, muscle lose,
called atrophy, will develop within a few days.

This is where the
muscles start to shrink because of lack of usage.

You will need
to immediately begin physical therapy by rubbing these affected nerves
to try to keep the blood flowing properly.

The flow of blood and the
nutrients in the blood will help the nerves grow if they can.

Radial
nerve paralysis in dogs is the one of the common type of nerve
injuries, but your dog still has a chance of full recovery.

If the
nerves to begin to grow, there is still one major danger that your dog
will face. There is a condition that is called paraesthesia where your
dog will begin to feel very abnormal sensations in their affected limb.

This
can be very good as well as very bad signs if you are not ready for
them. It means that re-growth is occurring, which is great news.

Summary

However,
it is also very dangerous because it will signal your dog that
something very strange is happening.

There have been several cases where
dogs will self-mutilate their own leg because of these sensations, and
they do not understand what is happening.

If this starts and you do not catch it, there will be only one alternative; amputation.

Amputation
may also be the only alternative if there is no hope at growth. But a
living dog with three legs is still much better than losing your pet.